Sanitary attachment for telephones.



No. 781,793. PATENTED FEB. v, 1905. I. M. SLOOUM.

SANITARY ATTACHMENT FOR TELBPHONBS.

APPLIUATIDN FILED JUNE 22,1904.

Patented February 7, 1905' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC M. SLOCUH, OF BOSTON, MASSACI'IUSETTS.

SANITARY ATTACHMENT FOR TELEPHONES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 781,793, dated February '7, 1905.

Application filed June 22, 1904. Serial No. 213,618.

To 11 whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, Isaac M. SLOCUM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Sanitary Attaclunents for Telephones, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like numerals on the drawings representing like parts.

It is a well-established fact that contagious diseases such as diphtheria, scarlet-fever, consumption, &c.-are often transmitted by means of mouthpieces of telepones and other sound-conveying instruments, especially in cases of those instruments which are used in public places.

It is the object of my invention to provide a novel device for protecting the mouthpiece of a telephone from contact with the lips of the person using it, this protection being accomplished by means of a protecting-sheet, which placed in front of the mouthpiece. In accordance with this object I have provided a novel device which can be attached to any telephonetransmitter and which is adapted to support a plurality of separate sheets or shields and which has means for feeding said sheets separately across the mouth of the transmitter. These sheets preferably will be of some suitable antiseptic, germicidal, disinfectant, or other tissue, and by using separate sheets, which are separately fed into position, a fresh sheet or shield is always in readiness whenever the telephone is to be used.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a telephone-transmitter having my improved device applied thereto. Fig. a section on the line fr a, Fig. 3; and Fig. 3 is a front elevation.

The device comprises a casing 3, having an arm t, by means of which it may be secured to the transmitter, said casing being constructed to receive or contain a plurality of separate sheets 5, each constituting-a shield forthetransmitter-mouth. Ashereinshown, said sheets are arranged one on the other in the form of a block and rest at one end on a support 6 and lie against a spring-pressed backing-piece 7. This backingpiece T is preferably hinged to the casing 23 at its lower end and for this purpose is shown as provided with curved arms 22, which extend through apertures 23 in the back side of the casing. 2A designates a spring-arm secured to the casing and bearing against the upper end of the backing-piece T. The lower end of the backing-piece is preferably formed with a lip or shelf 25, on which the block of paper rests. One end of the casing has an opening 8 in line with the ends of the sheets 5, through which opening the sheets are fed separately by means of friction-roll 9, which rests on the upper sheet of the series. Said roll may be operated in any suitable way, and, as herein shown, its projecting end is provided with a gear 10, which is geared to and isdriven byzulriving-gear11. This latter gear may be turned either by aerank or a suitable thumb-pieceli Thecasingispreferablymade with a hinged portion or cover 13, which is shown as hinged to the casingat one end, as at 1i, and which is shaped at 15 to receive the friction-roll 9, said roll being journaled in the cover. The cover is held closed by any suitable lock, such as a locking-bail 16.

It will be noted that in the construction herein shown the backing-piece 7 has an angular relation to the plane of the rim of the mouthpiece 17 and therefore that each sheet of paper also has this angular relation to the rim of the mouthpiece. As the friction-roll 9 is turned the top sheet is fed out through the opening 8, and because of the angular relation between said sheet and the plane. of the edge of the mouthpiece the top edge of said sheet strikes against the edge of the mouthpiece and is guided thereby during its upward movement. This .I regard as important, because since the mouthpiece itselfguides the sheet in its upward movement no special guiding means for the sheet is required.

As herein shown, the arm a is slotted and is secured to the transmitter by beingclamped between the mouthpiece 17 and the body 18.

In using the device the operator will first turn the thumb-piece 12 to feed a sheet 5 across the mouthpiece of the transmitter, and

after using the instrument said soiled sheet may be removed by hand.

The sheets are held in the proper position in the casing 3 by means of a positioningblade 20, carried by a member 26, having a hook 27,which engages a slot in the backingpiece 7, as best seen in Fig. 2. This hooked piece 26 is held to the block of paper by frictional engagement of the plate with the sheets of paper and is for the purpose of preventing the block as a whole from being fed upwardly by the roll, which therefore merely picks off the top sheet and feeds it to the aperture 8.

\Vhile I prefer to support my device beneath the transmitter-mouthpiece so that the sheets are fed upwardly, since the casing 3 is less in the way when in this position, yet it will be obvious that the casing can be adjusted so that the sheets can be fed downwardly, if desired.

I am aware of the fact that separate sheets have heretofore been used as sanitary shields for telephone-transmitters; but, so far as I am aware, it is new to provide sheet-feeding means for feeding the sheets separately into position at an angle to the plane of the transmitter-mouthpiece, and therefore I desire to claim this broadly.

WVhile I prefer the friction feeding means herein illustrated, yet I do not wish to be limited thereto, as other equivalent means for feeding sheets might be used without departing from the invention.

I have illustrated my sanitary attachment as applied to a telephone-transmitter, though it may obviously be attached to mouthpieces of other instruments such, for instance, as the mouthpiece of speaking-tubes such as are in common use in apartment-houses. In fact,

it may be attached to any instrument having a mouthpiece to be spoken into.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a sanitary attachment for telephones, a receptacle or casing for holding a plurality of separate sheets, sheet-feeding means for delivering sheets therefrom, a transmitter having a mouthpiece, and means for connecting the receptacle or casing at an angle to the transmitter to deliver sheets angularly toward and across the face of the mouthpiece.

2. In a sanitary attachment for telephones, a transmitter having a mouthpiece, a sanitary appliance comprising means to support separate sheets of paper of a size to cover the mouthpiece of the transmitter, and means for supporting the sanitary appliance from the transmitter at an angle thereto to direct sheets separately at an angle toward and over the mouthpiece.

3. The combination of a telephonetransmitter having a mouthpiece, means for supporting separate sheets of paper, connecting instrumentalities between the transmitter and said means for holding the latter at an angle to the transmitter to direct sheets of paper angularl y toward and over the mouthpiece and devices for feeding sheets of paper singly from said means.

i. In a sanitary attachment for telephones, a casing for containing sheets of paper, said casing having a delivering-opening, a transmitter having a mouthpiece.and means for supporting the casing from the transmitter at an angle thereto with said opening disposed to deliver sheets angularly toward and across the face of the mouthpiece.

.5. In a sanitary attachment for telephones,

ISAAC M. SLOCUM.

Witnesses:

LOUIS (J. SMITH, MARGARET A. DUNN. 

